Our next group discussion is coming up next month with the New York Times Bestseller This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings. Described as a vengeful Black lesbian vampire book set during the Harlem Renaissance, this book is one that we did not want to miss. We’ll be reading in the next few weeks and we’ll post our discussion on September 19th. We’d love to have you read along and share your thoughts with us.
Publisher Summary: The first book in a decadent fantasy duology set in Jazz Age Harlem, where at night the dance halls come to life—and death waits in the dark.
It’s 1926 and reapers, the once-human vampires with a terrifying affliction, are on the rise in New York. But the Saint family’s thriving reaper-hunting enterprise holds reign over the city, giving them more power than even the organized criminals who run the nightclubs. Eighteen year-old Elise Saint, home after five years in Paris, is the reluctant heir to the empire. Only one thing weighs heavier on Elise’s mind than her family obligations: the knowledge that the Harlem reapers want her dead.
Layla Quinn is a young reaper haunted by her past. Though reapers have existed in America for three centuries, created by New World atrocities and cruel experiments, Layla became one just five years ago. The night she was turned, she lost her parents, the protection of the Saints, and her humanity, and she’ll never forget how Elise Saint betrayed her.
But some reapers are inexplicably turning part human again, leaving a wake of mysterious and brutal killings. When Layla is framed for one of these attacks, the Saint patriarch offers her a deal she can’t refuse: to work with Elise to investigate how these murders might be linked to shocking rumors of a reaper cure. Once close friends, now bitter enemies, Elise and Layla explore the city’s underworld, confronting their intense feelings for one another and uncovering the sinister truths about a growing threat to reapers and humans alike.
Content warnings: Scenarios involving emotional abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, suicidal ideation, violence, murder, and mentions of a race massacre.
Get a teaser of the audio here:
You can listen in on a chat with the author to learn more:
Hayley Dennings is a recent graduate from Loyola Marymount University, where she double majored in English and French with a concentration in diversity and inclusion. Hayley loves stories centered on queer female characters and dedicates her writing to actively resisting misogynoir. She currently resides in the Bay Area, working as an editorial and marketing associate for Fable. When Hayley is not working, she is spending time with her dogs, reading, painting, and baking.